Oral history. ( local )Online audio. ( local )interview ( marcgt )Oral history ( local )Online audio ( local )

Notes

Summary:

This is an oral history interview with Holocaust survivor Hans Max Krieger. Krieger was born in Germany in 1922. At the age of ten, he was accepted into the Gross-Breesen school, an agricultural training farm for Jewish youth, where he studied until 1938. After Kristallnacht, all the children over age seventeen were sent to concentration camps; Krieger, only sixteen at the time, was sent home. His mother and grandfather were able to secure him a place on a Kindertransport, and Krieger escaped to England and ultimately to America, where he worked at William B. Thalhimer's Hyde Farmland in Virginia. Krieger was drafted into the American army, serving in the 71st Infantry Division. He was present at the liberation of the Gunskirchen concentration camp on May 4, 1945. After getting out of the army, Krieger worked in a gas station, eventually owning his own chain of stations before retiring and moving to Florida. He was very active in his temple, helping to start a preschool. At the end of the interview, his son, Jeff Krieger, joins the conversation and reads a poem he wrote about his father's experiences.

Venue:

Interview conducted December 10, 2009.

Statement of Responsibility:

interviewed by Tori Chambers Lockler.

Record Information

Source Institution:

University of South Florida Library

Holding Location:

University of South Florida

Rights Management:

All applicable rights reserved by the source institution and holding location.